Guild Wars 2

Hello, I would like to share my story with you all—I feel it is quite important to share this, as it very closely relates to the current and future state of the game.

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I joined this game just over a month ago. I greatly enjoyed my time with the game, found the world charming, the quests refreshing, and the various classes interesting… but as of last week, this is no longer true.

Congratulations, Arena Net. Your “New Player Experience” has done, for me, the exact thing it meant to prevent—It has driven me away, when it was intended to help keep me playing.

While I had already felt restricted by receiving traits a fair bit too late for my preference, It wasn’t too big of a deal—-By itself. There was a wide enough variety of skills to experiment with in various combinations that it was able to keep me tied over until I could further specialize my character as I desired.

However, with the “New Player Experience” that was apparently designed to help retain new players, I have found all fun drained from the leveling experience—-Which, thanks to my status as an extreme altoholic, would have lasted until I had one of each character at 80 before I would focus on things like PvP, WvW, and collections.

My only character at cap is my Elementalist, whom I had rushed to 80 from 46 in Edge of the Mists over the course of two days after the original announcement in order to have at least my foot in the door and had experienced the prior system in it’s entirety—Sadly, I have yet to finish even my Elementalist’s personal story, as I wanted to get to 80 before the patch, yet after the patch, I decided to hold off yet again as I heard stories of broken or missing stories and major inconsistencies.

I went in with an open mind, led to believe it was an enhancement of the prior system, adding to the amazing groundwork already laid… Sadly, it turned out to be a deconstruction of the system which ended up making it feel more like games I had once played, loved, and eventually quit thanks to their sterility and expedited leveling processes. Over the course of a single patch, charming places like Queensdale became the prettied up younger sibling of old, worn out places like Elwynn Forest of Azeroth and Freemarch of Telara.

Good job, good job. I was having so much fun, too, looking forward to quite a long stay within Tyria.

I urge you to reconsider this situation. I really do want to continue playing and continue enjoying my time playing, but as of right now, this is just plain… disappointing. That’s all it is.

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Employees of Arena Net, if you read this, know that I did truly enjoy this game and I truly do want to enjoy it further… But as it stands, with the current systems in place… I just can’t. No matter how much I want to, I’m not having fun anymore so I’m forced to draw the line.
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Whether it was your own decision or, like some people seem to think, NCsoft pressuring you into making these changes… I hope this serves to help you understand the situation as a whole, and I hope that understanding helps you make decisions toward a better future for this game and it’s community.

In summary, these are my reasons:
-Early levels are incredibly dull. Early hearts/quests are too simplistic and bland.

-Traits take far too long to open up—By the time I get access to my first choice of a trait, half the leveling experience has gone by, with character development only truly opening up with access to Master traits at 60.

-Utility slots take far too long to unlock.

-“Tutorial” process lasts as long as the entirety of Final Fantasy 7. Most games do just fine explaining their systems with a few tool tips during the first half hour—-Having to go through this monstrously bloated tutorial—-Which can last between 40~60 hours of gameplay—-for every single character I make is tiring, insulting, and disheartening.

The current system in it’s current state has truly and entirely ruined it for me… I would not have put in over two hundred hours at the end of my summer before I return to college in just the three weeks leading up to the patch had I not enjoyed it. Yet, such is how it goes.

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Attached are the results of my “short” stay, just in case you are curious as to what I’ve accomplished, and just how much I enjoyed this game.

What a great use of character creation tool.

-Early levels are incredibly dull. Early hearts/quests are too simplistic and bland.

True, but apparently this was an issue for not experienced gamers. What, like 12 hearts got adjusted?

-Traits take far too long to open up

Level 60 was already the case since launch. No change there.
I do agree that the trait system needs fine tuning.

-Utility slots take far too long to unlock.

They are at level 13 / 17 / 19 now. With exception of the first utility this is at about the same pace as before (time wise).

-“Tutorial” process
You can easily just click it away with 1 button… and more often than not you get loot.
It’s not a tutorial, it’s simply pointing out game specifics. You’d be amazed how many people miss out on them.

I like how you have five toons with the same hair, and possibly face.

eekzie.5640:

-Early levels are incredibly dull. Early hearts/quests are too simplistic and bland.

True, but apparently this was an issue for not experienced gamers. What, like 12 hearts got adjusted?

-Traits take far too long to open up

Level 60 was already the case since launch. No change there.
I do agree that the trait system needs fine tuning.

-Utility slots take far too long to unlock.

They are at level 13 / 17 / 19 now. With exception of the first utility this is at about the same pace as before (time wise).

-“Tutorial” process
You can easily just click it away with 1 button… and more often than not you get loot.
It’s not a tutorial, it’s simply pointing out game specifics. You’d be amazed how many people miss out on them.

You said it well.

I would like to add if you are getting hints past your first level 80. You should not. I have a new character after the patch the only “Tutorial” I get is the two hints in the tutorial area about movement and camera control. There is also the new dodge tutorial. To get all the other hints I would need to click for more information.

Such an horrible patch. Worse ever! Game sucks like no other ever has, and ever will.

Sarcasm over.

Addressing the characters: It was the only combination for human females I could find that fit the voice, conflicted with the least amount of armor/clothing and was not also hauntingly reminiscent of Selena Gomez/An overgrown 12 year old.

Also, this post was written up over several hours, with the pictures being taken toward the very end.

At the point I started writing it, patch notes had not yet come out—And was spurred on by this post right here, and the root post by Gaile.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Changes-Coming-to-the-NPE/first#post4419507

As of right now, I am rescinding my prior decision and replacing it with “I’ll see how things go for now, and check back in later”. The handling of this situation as a whole has not left me with much confidence, to be honest.

However, until the dust has settled the general tone present in my root post will remain the same: There’s been much damage done. In my decade of experience with MMOs I have not once seen any serious company keep things in the dark the way Arena Net does.

Even Blizzard and Trion release weekly patch notes for in-progress content—-Arena Net, on the other hand made only incredibly vague statements about things that “might” happen—-Hidden in forum posts, no less—while the community went to hell over the course of a week.

If they had said more than “Some things aren’t working as intended” and actually stated officially, in plain sight “Hey, that kitten you don’t like? we’re reworking it right now based on your feedback. The revised system will be out next week” this whole fiasco could have been avoided—-Except, all we got was a reply to a random forum post saying “Patch early next week addressing some issues with the New Player Experience”

Piece of advice, anet? you’ve heard it many times before… But your communication sucks—-It could be improved greatly with in depth patch notes on the news feed and actually letting us know what’s going on, rather than incredibly vague, highly open to interpretation “We’re working on it”

If you had said “We’re reducing the level requirements, we just don’t know how far yet” or posted (somewhere the average, non-forum crawling player can see) that the systems in place in game were not representative of how they should be—-And also stated exactly how they should be—-a weeks worth of enmity from a large portion of the community could have been prevented.

Once again, as a new player/customer, with this being my first experience of their methods…It’s not very encouraging. I’m now left wondering “Is this going to be the same for every update from now on? Are they going to let things go to hell in a handbasket every time something goes wrong just because they refuse to communicate with their consumers to even the most basic degree expected from a developer?”

I’m only lvl 14 but so far I’m having a blast!…don’t think that means anything though :P

Perkinz.5362

You made some really good points regarding communication. I can tell you they are working on it and aware that it is a problem. There is a large thread about that very topic.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Communicating-with-you/first

phatmanjones.7326:

I’m only lvl 14 but so far I’m having a blast!…don’t think that means anything though :P

Your comment sounds like you are new to the game. Welcome to the game. The fact that you are level 14 and having a blast means quite a bit. Being it is anecdotal evidence but it might calm some fears that more veteran players have regarding new players and the new system.

Don’t let the hoha about the recent patch get too you too much. A lot of people are upset because things changed. Change is never handled well by people in general. Especially when it effects things that some players enjoyed doing. Experience the game for what it is now. If you have feedback provide it.

Star Ace.5207:

Such an horrible patch. Worse ever! Game sucks like no other ever has, and ever will.

Sarcasm over.

I think a lot of people feel disenfranchised because of this patch. But I think over time, this patch will be more helpful than harmful too.

The changes made today should smooth over some of the hard feelings.

today’s patch will smooth the crappy experience for you a lot

eekzie.5640:

-Early levels are incredibly dull. Early hearts/quests are too simplistic and bland.

True, but apparently this was an issue for not experienced gamers. What, like 12 hearts got adjusted?

-Traits take far too long to open up

Level 60 was already the case since launch. No change there.
I do agree that the trait system needs fine tuning.

-Utility slots take far too long to unlock.

They are at level 13 / 17 / 19 now. With exception of the first utility this is at about the same pace as before (time wise).

-“Tutorial” process
You can easily just click it away with 1 button… and more often than not you get loot.
It’s not a tutorial, it’s simply pointing out game specifics. You’d be amazed how many people miss out on them.

traits unlock 20 levels later than they used to.
you used to unlock traits at 10 or 11, now its 30
major used to unlock at 40, now its 60
grandmaster used to unlock at 60, now its 80

phys.7689:

eekzie.5640:

-Early levels are incredibly dull. Early hearts/quests are too simplistic and bland.

True, but apparently this was an issue for not experienced gamers. What, like 12 hearts got adjusted?

-Traits take far too long to open up

Level 60 was already the case since launch. No change there.
I do agree that the trait system needs fine tuning.

-Utility slots take far too long to unlock.

They are at level 13 / 17 / 19 now. With exception of the first utility this is at about the same pace as before (time wise).

-“Tutorial” process
You can easily just click it away with 1 button… and more often than not you get loot.
It’s not a tutorial, it’s simply pointing out game specifics. You’d be amazed how many people miss out on them.

traits unlock 20 levels later than they used to.
you used to unlock traits at 10 or 11, now its 30
major used to unlock at 40, now its 60
grandmaster used to unlock at 60, now its 80

Explanation on why was already given. Feedback can be provided as requested in the following thread.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Game-Updates-Traits/page/41#post4358626

I feel like that guy that proposed these changes (new player experience) is actually working for another company, probably Blizzard to sabotage this game. And the fact that Colin did not catch that speaks volume about the management. And oh, don’t even mention the QA team. Did they even play it at all?

Perkinz.5362:

Hello, I would like to share my story with you all—I feel it is quite important to share this, as it very closely relates to the current and future state of the game.

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They just patched the system, and made some changes that may make it more tolerable

overall, by 20 you have most of your unlocks out of the way now.
skill points are account unlocks after the first time, so alt charachters should be able to do them as soon as they walk up to them.

I dont think the experience from 1-15 is much better, however if you like the game it is better than before the 9/16 patch
Overall i would say it may be a mistake to put such a heavy focus on leveling as the primary means of reward. Also i think the game leads you too much now, and people probably wont really smell the roses with a lot of content. However, i think the frustration of the system when you don’t know what to do probaly outweighed the benefit.

You still literally gets zero skill points for level up. And can’t do personal story right away. A lot of people count on personal story exp reward as a source of level increase.

phys.7689:

eekzie.5640:

-Early levels are incredibly dull. Early hearts/quests are too simplistic and bland.

True, but apparently this was an issue for not experienced gamers. What, like 12 hearts got adjusted?

-Traits take far too long to open up

Level 60 was already the case since launch. No change there.
I do agree that the trait system needs fine tuning.

-Utility slots take far too long to unlock.

They are at level 13 / 17 / 19 now. With exception of the first utility this is at about the same pace as before (time wise).

-“Tutorial” process
You can easily just click it away with 1 button… and more often than not you get loot.
It’s not a tutorial, it’s simply pointing out game specifics. You’d be amazed how many people miss out on them.

traits unlock 20 levels later than they used to.
you used to unlock traits at 10 or 11, now its 30
major used to unlock at 40, now its 60
grandmaster used to unlock at 60, now its 80

This is true with one exception. Traits unlocked at 11, but you couldn’t actually get your first trait originally until level 15.

Vayne.8563:

Star Ace.5207:

Such an horrible patch. Worse ever! Game sucks like no other ever has, and ever will.

Sarcasm over.

I think a lot of people feel disenfranchised because of this patch. But I think over time, this patch will be more helpful than harmful too.

The changes made today should smooth over some of the hard feelings.

My apologies, it just gets tiring because all things considered, if you are open minded, there’s hardly nothing about this patch that is AS kittenome put it. One would think it’s just a malicious attempt (even if it’s not) to steer people away from the game, with all the misinformation and overreaction going on.

I do notice some have been alienated, but unlike with so many other patches, I can’t relate to those that have been “harmed” (megaserver/trait rework/ascended gear=major changes; NPE=nothing in comparison.) Thanks for being reasonable about it, though.

(The Dungeon group kick concerns are actually more valid for those affected than the NPE, IMHO. Perhaps I am just being callous.)

Star Ace.5207:

Vayne.8563:

Star Ace.5207:

Such an horrible patch. Worse ever! Game sucks like no other ever has, and ever will.

Sarcasm over.

I think a lot of people feel disenfranchised because of this patch. But I think over time, this patch will be more helpful than harmful too.

The changes made today should smooth over some of the hard feelings.

My apologies, it just gets tiring because all things considered, if you are open minded, there’s hardly nothing about this patch that is AS kittenome put it. One would think it’s just a malicious attempt (even if it’s not) to steer people away from the game, with all the misinformation and overreaction going on.

I do notice some have been alienated, but unlike with so many other patches, I can’t relate to those that have been “harmed” (megaserver/trait rework/ascended gear=major changes; NPE=nothing in comparison.) Thanks for being reasonable about it, though.

(The Dungeon group kick concerns are actually more valid for those affected than the NPE, IMHO. Perhaps I am just being callous.)

It’s not just this patch, mate. That’s the thing. People don’t segregate out their annoyances into this is annoying and this is not. What you’re really seeing here is people annoyed by the game as a whole.

While a lot of people like the megaserver, a whole lot of people are still mad about it. The trait changes were largely not accepted and most of that hasn’t been fixed, and now this is added on top of it. This came on the heals of interviews that said SAB is on the back burner along with dungeons. People are angry because they’re angry. The new patch is just a focus for their anger.

I don’t think it’s necessarily fair that that happens, and that a pretty good patch is impugned to the degree it was, but who ever said life was fair? It’s what happens.

Someone said in another thread (don’t remember who) that if Anet had a big content release, no one would even be talking about this. People who have done mostly everything they want to do want more content.

anzenketh.3759:

A lot of people are upset because things changed. Change is never handled well by people in general. Especially when it effects things that some players enjoyed doing. Experience the game for what it is now. If you have feedback provide it.

good changes are…
they could have done what everyone else does, ya know, release NEW content as rewards rather than taking everything away and pretending its your reward as they did with the traits and now everything else.

how would you possibly expect people to be happy with these changes?
personally i’ll never level a new character unless i have a ton of tomes to insta level them. oh wait… i’d probably need to unlock bank access.
because unlocking things that you could already do by default is FUN!

Liewec.2896:

good changes are…
they could have done what everyone else does, ya know, release NEW content as rewards rather than taking everything away and pretending its your reward as they did with the traits and now everything else.

When I started this game a year ago I had no idea about asura gates until I met some people who showed me I have been level 18 then. Same with all the other stuff, I wanted to do map completion (although I didn’t know what map completion was I just wanted to know my starter area inside out as I’ve spent so much time there) I couldn’t figure out what the red and blue thingys were. When I did a combo I was in the middle of a fight and clicked the “Hey you just did a combo.. blabla” away as fast as I could because I’ve been in a fight – the description of it is still the same and very poor in my opinion as combos are important to me at least. So everything which you call “has been taken away” overwhelmed me before I hit the level on which it is now either availlable or there are some explanations to it. Unlocking weapon skills alone took me likely longer than the level cap there is now, so in the end nothing really changed. As most of the stuff is still availlable to everybody if they know how, so veteran players.
The trait system is a whole different thing. I hate it too and would still be talking about it if there were great new content.

eekzie.5640:

-Early levels are incredibly dull. Early hearts/quests are too simplistic and bland.

True, but apparently this was an issue for not experienced gamers. What, like 12 hearts got adjusted?

-Traits take far too long to open up

Level 60 was already the case since launch. No change there.
I do agree that the trait system needs fine tuning.

-Utility slots take far too long to unlock.

They are at level 13 / 17 / 19 now. With exception of the first utility this is at about the same pace as before (time wise).

-“Tutorial” process
You can easily just click it away with 1 button… and more often than not you get loot.
It’s not a tutorial, it’s simply pointing out game specifics. You’d be amazed how many people miss out on them.

I agree with everything you say except the traits. Before the April 2014 Feature Patch, traits were:
Adept (1-10 points) Unlocked: Level 11.
Master (11-20 points) Unlocked: Level 40.
Grandmaster (21-30 points) Unlocked: Level 60.

After the April 2014 Feature Patch:
Adept (1-2 points) Unlocked: 30.
Master (3-4 points) Unlocked: 60.
Grandmaster (5-6 points) Unlocked: 80.

Note the point disparity does not make a difference (5 points old system = 1 point new system).

If you would like more information on the old trait system, information is available here.

Adding my 2 cents… I disagree with the latest changes to personal storylines (which quite honestly either have things missing from previous storylines or are effectively “broken & don’t even work now” for existing or new storylines.

The level requirement to proceed in your own personal storyline I find quite ridiculous, before it was every few level ups which meant you could keep your level progression in line with your personal story. Now its>> “go out there & level up 10 times before we’ll let you continue your own storyline!” How exactly does this add to the “freedom” of the game to go “where you want, when you want & how you want?”.

Did I miss something? How is the new system in anyway better then the old one? If anything its more limiting & controlling of what a new player does (which in my mind is going backwards, not forwards!!!)

And don’t even get me started on the level requirement for the final bits of the “personal storyline”. You have to be level 80 to finish your own personal story line chapters & can’t even access the final storylines until your level 80? What?

Sooo effectively your wandering into Orr & leveling up to 80 first before doing your own personal storyline which is supposed to introduce new players to Orr in the first place…………. spoiler alert>> (where traeherne explains about the history of Orr, Zhaitan & how everything ended up the way it is now).

In my mind this totally ruins the “new player storyline experience” cause new players are going to be wandering around areas that “in there storylines” they aren’t even supposed to be in yet! For veteran players this isn’t so much of an issue cause we’ve already gone through it, but for the new players…. in my mind it takes away from there personal storyline experience totally!

I am a new player myself.

I just hit level 18 and I am still pretty clueless about the game. How skills work, where crafting npcs are etc! you speak of Traits.. I think i clicked some skill points into them! But my lack of understanding there is 90% me not reading up on how to play xD

I don’t mind waiting to level up to continue the storyline. I had similar experience in other games I have played.

I enjoy the zone/map events. I like how we get the option to jump server for more exp when the one your on is too quiet.

The quests are simplistic. But they work for me. They let me get to grips with moving my character, working out what skills to use, what my skills actually do and see if I can interrupt/evade or whatever the daily wants me to do.

I’m still struggling to get the chat window to open up when I need it to. Or even move the darn thing down a bit.

Sorry, long post.
But the last should be read, before the potato i mean.

I am not a new player, but i can agree, that the changes are for the worse. What i really liked about the gam before was, that i could do the personal story at my own pace. With friends i could try doinig it before the recommended level, or later. Some parts of the story were so hard, i even had to level up AND use help from other players to complete it. Fine, i liked that. I lieked the progression speed of the story, it was more or less like in a good fantasy book. with the developing of the story the hero gets more experienced and advances .
That was something new in an mmog. That was really great.
Now:
From the view of a mybe new player. let us say: human commoner.
Doing the tutorial, “yay, now i am the Hero of Shaemor, lets see what the new day brings. OH, well anew area. some renown hearts, some events, and what about the story, Hell, i am the hero of shaemor, there ought to be something else for me to do. Now i got the renown hearts up to level 6, the next is level 7 , well but i am still level 6. shame i have to levle my character another way.
Why does everybody like this game, there is not even a story. Well ithink i quit. ….”

Sorry but if you wanted to prevent key-farming, what is my impression, you could have just made it a requirement to be the recommended level to continue the story, with the old progression. like this it is a pain for a player to get to the story.

Please put it back the way it was.

And one other thout, though i could not try it by now.

And i thougt it way better to ge the weapon skills by using the weapon.
with lvlel 9 i only get one attack to kill an enemy and rally when i am down. Makes it more difficult and frustrating for new players.
Underwater fghtinmg starts at lvl 8 or 9. way to late, since there are possibilities to fight under water in all statrting areas at quite a low level.

Again: i liked it way better before. Especially the story progression.

I am okay with the new utility slot progression
with the weapon swapping and the special abilities, ithink they should be put back to their former state.

edit:
I raged about it now.
I started a new character.
Well it is not as bad as i thougt. except still that at the beginning there is a lack of story. Maybe the dialogue after the tutorial should be changed, or new players should receive a letter after the tutorial to motivate them to explore the starting area a bit to get stronger before continuing.
The other changes i can accept now and see their benefits.

Now have a potato.

Perkinz.5362:

Attached are the results of my “short” stay, just in case you are curious as to what I’ve accomplished, and just how much I enjoyed this game.

“You have played for 260 hours over the last 35 days”

Wow. Thats 7.4 hours a day average in the last 35 days.

Maybe you have tried too hard and maybe a break from the game could be healthy.

Greetings.

A lot of people thought this was Guild Wars… that is their mistake. This a complete different kind of game… Guild Wars ended in GW1. This is a new franchise with a VERY similar name but that’s about it.

Liewec.2896:

anzenketh.3759:

A lot of people are upset because things changed. Change is never handled well by people in general. Especially when it effects things that some players enjoyed doing. Experience the game for what it is now. If you have feedback provide it.

good changes are…
they could have done what everyone else does, ya know, release NEW content as rewards rather than taking everything away and pretending its your reward as they did with the traits and now everything else.

how would you possibly expect people to be happy with these changes?
personally i’ll never level a new character unless i have a ton of tomes to insta level them. oh wait… i’d probably need to unlock bank access.
because unlocking things that you could already do by default is FUN!

I understand your frustration with the new player experience. However you are making wild and hyperbolic statements will not help matters. Anyone that makes wild and hyperbolic statements will just be ignored by the developers. If you have constructive criticism on this matter. They do want to hear it.

Please read the following posts:
How to give good feedback!
Changes comming to the NPE!
Recent patch notes that changed the NPE!
ArenaNet’s standing on the NPE!

I’m guessing the majority of yesterdays updates should correct a lot of the OPs original complaints (not all, but a good many….especially the account bound unlock ones).

Vayne.8563:

It’s not just this patch, mate. That’s the thing. People don’t segregate out their annoyances into this is annoying and this is not. What you’re really seeing here is people annoyed by the game as a whole.

While a lot of people like the megaserver, a whole lot of people are still mad about it. The trait changes were largely not accepted and most of that hasn’t been fixed, and now this is added on top of it. This came on the heals of interviews that said SAB is on the back burner along with dungeons. People are angry because they’re angry. The new patch is just a focus for their anger.

I don’t think it’s necessarily fair that that happens, and that a pretty good patch is impugned to the degree it was, but who ever said life was fair? It’s what happens.

Someone said in another thread (don’t remember who) that if Anet had a big content release, no one would even be talking about this. People who have done mostly everything they want to do want more content.

Wait a minute. So you have this list of specific things that some players have been upset over, and you directly acknowledge that these complaints have been ignored in part or whole, and that this trend has been piling up for some time. Yet you still sit there and dismissively say that people are just “angry because they’re angry,” like it’s some social dysfunction. What?

UndeadRufus.6832:

Vayne.8563:

It’s not just this patch, mate. That’s the thing. People don’t segregate out their annoyances into this is annoying and this is not. What you’re really seeing here is people annoyed by the game as a whole.

While a lot of people like the megaserver, a whole lot of people are still mad about it. The trait changes were largely not accepted and most of that hasn’t been fixed, and now this is added on top of it. This came on the heals of interviews that said SAB is on the back burner along with dungeons. People are angry because they’re angry. The new patch is just a focus for their anger.

I don’t think it’s necessarily fair that that happens, and that a pretty good patch is impugned to the degree it was, but who ever said life was fair? It’s what happens.

Someone said in another thread (don’t remember who) that if Anet had a big content release, no one would even be talking about this. People who have done mostly everything they want to do want more content.

What a minute. So you have this list of specific things that some players have been upset over, and you directly acknowledge that these complaints have been ignored in part or whole, and that this trend has been piling up for some time. Yet you still sit there and dismissively say that people are just “angry because they’re angry,” like it’s some social dysfunction. What?

I’m saying that if this was the only thing, the reaction would have been less. That’s all. It’s NORMAL to have an over-reaction if you’re reacting to more than one thing. The changes here were a bit annoying but didn’t deserve the kind of reception it got. Not by a long shot. But when you add in all the other stuff, it explains the reaction.

That’s human nature.

I guarantee you that if the other stuff hadn’t happened, this reaction wouldn’t have been as bad as it was. I’m not even sure what there is to argue about here.

Vayne.8563:

I’m saying that if this was the only thing, the reaction would have been less. That’s all. It’s NORMAL to have an over-reaction if you’re reacting to more than one thing. The changes here were a bit annoying but didn’t deserve the kind of reception it got. Not by a long shot. But when you add in all the other stuff, it explains the reaction.

That’s human nature.

I guarantee you that if the other stuff hadn’t happened, this reaction wouldn’t have been as bad as it was. I’m not even sure what there is to argue about here.

I don’t accept your guarantee. But regardless, you’ve still basically a constructed a self-detonating proposition. People aren’t angry because they’re angry. They’re angry because crap has been happening, apparently a lot of crap, and ArenaNet has done little to nothing to address it. Maybe there’s been overreaction to current events because of this (I don’t think so—current events have been quite disappointing), but that’s not quite the same animal.

UndeadRufus.6832:

Vayne.8563:

I’m saying that if this was the only thing, the reaction would have been less. That’s all. It’s NORMAL to have an over-reaction if you’re reacting to more than one thing. The changes here were a bit annoying but didn’t deserve the kind of reception it got. Not by a long shot. But when you add in all the other stuff, it explains the reaction.

That’s human nature.

I guarantee you that if the other stuff hadn’t happened, this reaction wouldn’t have been as bad as it was. I’m not even sure what there is to argue about here.

I don’t accept your guarantee. But regardless, you’ve still basically a constructed a self-detonating proposition. People aren’t angry because they’re angry. They’re angry because crap has been happening, apparently a lot of crap, and ArenaNet has done little to nothing to address it. Maybe there’s been overreaction to current events because of this (I don’t think so—current events have been quite disappointing), but that’s not quite the same animal.

I’m not going to argue about a basic truth. If you’re already angry and something gets you angry again, you react more strongly. This is like normal human emotion. If you’re not already angry and something makes you angry, you’re still angry. But things have a way of building up. Reactions get stronger. If you don’t agree with it, fine, we can agree to disagree. But I don’t think this is unreasonable at all. And I don’t know many who would actually disagree with this.

Vayne.8563:

I’m not going to argue about a basic truth. If you’re already angry and something gets you angry again, you react more strongly. This is like normal human emotion. If you’re not already angry and something makes you angry, you’re still angry. But things have a way of building up. Reactions get stronger. If you don’t agree with it, fine, we can agree to disagree. But I don’t think this is unreasonable at all. And I don’t know many who would actually disagree with this.

Basic truth? A basic trend, maybe, but even this is only going to apply along the median of people who have actually been stewing all this time, patch after patch. I’m absolutely livid about the 9/9 “Feature Pack,” to the point of nearly uninstalling an ArenaNet product for only the second time in 7+ years. Yet since April I’ve been largely content with GW2, and reached my current state of dissatisfaction pretty much on its own merits.

You can’t reasonably sit there and acknowledge that people are mad about a bunch of specific stuff, and then pooh-pooh their concerns by saying that they’re just “angry because they’re angry.” That isn’t accurate. You know it isn’t accurate, because you just listed the reasons. Maybe they’re overreacting, or maybe you’re just dismissing criticism, or maybe some of both. Even if overreaction is in the cards here, the fact that so many dubious changes have occurred to create this suspicious, chronically-malcontent atmosphere—well, it’s symptomatic of something besides whiny players, and it should bother anyone who cares about the game.

eekzie.5640:

-Early levels are incredibly dull. Early hearts/quests are too simplistic and bland.

True, but apparently this was an issue for not experienced gamers. What, like 12 hearts got adjusted?

-Traits take far too long to open up

Level 60 was already the case since launch. No change there.
I do agree that the trait system needs fine tuning.

-Utility slots take far too long to unlock.

They are at level 13 / 17 / 19 now. With exception of the first utility this is at about the same pace as before (time wise).

-“Tutorial” process
You can easily just click it away with 1 button… and more often than not you get loot.
It’s not a tutorial, it’s simply pointing out game specifics. You’d be amazed how many people miss out on them.

Utility slots: You got all way faster. I was leveling a char before the update who got the first unlocked and after update i still got the first one but i could not unlock any more skills. I was already by the 3 skillpoint cost skills. so no its not at the same peace as before and without a story, you get bored fast if your not a new player.

I am playing this game for 2 years, i really love playing it but all maps are a bit boring now (since i have done them 9 times) so for me i would love some more maps and maybe a whole new story and not the worst (for me) leveling experience. Because of this update i am even considering of quitting this game.

UndeadRufus.6832:

Vayne.8563:

I’m not going to argue about a basic truth. If you’re already angry and something gets you angry again, you react more strongly. This is like normal human emotion. If you’re not already angry and something makes you angry, you’re still angry. But things have a way of building up. Reactions get stronger. If you don’t agree with it, fine, we can agree to disagree. But I don’t think this is unreasonable at all. And I don’t know many who would actually disagree with this.

Basic truth? A basic trend, maybe, but even this is only going to apply along the median of people who have actually been stewing all this time, patch after patch. I’m absolutely livid about the 9/9 “Feature Pack,” to the point of nearly uninstalling an ArenaNet product for only the second time in 7+ years. Yet since April I’ve been largely content with GW2, and reached my current state of dissatisfaction pretty much on its own merits.

You can’t reasonably sit there and acknowledge that people are mad about a bunch of specific stuff, and then pooh-pooh their concerns by saying that they’re just “angry because they’re angry.” That isn’t accurate. You know it isn’t accurate, because you just listed the reasons. Maybe they’re overreacting, or maybe you’re just dismissing criticism, or maybe some of both. Even if overreaction is in the cards here, the fact that so many dubious changes have occurred to create this suspicious, chronically-malcontent atmosphere—well, it’s symptomatic of something besides whiny players, and it should bother anyone who cares about the game.

Apparently you read my post completely wrong. I’m not diminishing anything. I’m saying people are angry because they’re angry. That’s a fact. They’re angry. I’m saying that the reaction might have been stronger, because they’re angry about so much. Nothing I said could possibly be taken to meant that people aren’t angry about this particularly patch. But this anger has, for many people been brewing for a while. That’s all I’m saying. I didn’t poo-poo anything.

You think everything I say is pro Anet, so you assume that my statement is pro Anet, but it’s not. I’m saying people are angry about this patch. In ADDITION, they’re angry about other stuff before this patch. And many people are.

The cumulative anger creates a stronger reaction. That’s what I’m saying. Not that people aren’t legitimately angry. I think you simply misinterpreted my post in the first place.

Vayne.8563:

Apparently you read my post completely wrong. I’m not diminishing anything.

Everything you just wrote is precisely in line with my previous post. That you would somehow find a way to characterize this as “completely wrong” and “misinterpreted” (by way of bald assertion, no less), is puzzling.

I’m saying people are angry because they’re angry. That’s a fact.

No, that’s a claim.

They’re angry. I’m saying that the reaction might have been stronger, because they’re angry about so much.

So they’re actually angry because ANet has done a bunch of stuff that has angered them.

Nothing I said could possibly be taken to meant that people aren’t angry about this particularly patch.

I didn’t say that.

But this anger has, for many people been brewing for a while. That’s all I’m saying.

Probably true, hence the last point in my previous post.

I didn’t poo-poo anything.

I don’t think you meant to.

You think everything I say is pro Anet, so you assume that my statement is pro Anet, but it’s not.

You seem to have been on this forum for as long as I can remember, and nearly everything thing you say is indeed pro-ANet, so that isn’t much of a stretch.

I think you simply misinterpreted my post in the first place.

I think you misinterpreted my interpretation.

My little nephew is waiting to shoot geth. Toodles.